REST IN PEACE: Stickam

January 31st, 2013 James Shotwell

This was unexpected.

After seven years of webcam chat services, Stickam has announced it will be shutting down permanently at 11:59PST tonight.

We have not covered a lot of technology on UTG, but the closure of Stickam is one move that is sure to shake things up within our community. Many artists, including UTG friend MOD SUN, have used Stickam for years as a way of further connecting with fans and friends around the globe, and its impending absence will leave a void (that services like UStream will quickly move to fill).

The team behind Stickam released a message to users and fans recently explaining the closure. You can read their letter below:

A note from all of us at Stickam to our friends:

We were here. We did this. Actually YOU were here, and you did this. Stickam was always about you, not “about us,” like most websites. And we appreciate you all, so so much.

After seven wonderful years we are incredibly sad to have to say goodbye. We did everything we could to keep this dream alive, but unfortunately you are reading this message.

When Stickam launched in 2005 we were the very first website devoted to live streaming, user generated video and chat. There was no blueprint, no roadmap to follow. We didn’t know where you would take us.

From the early days of the live community, “Stickam stars” started to emerge… Ibot, Gay God, Kiki Kannibal… Scene kids and scene bands… And then the wonderful Stu Stone and Jamie Kennedy and others came in, and the first regular, produced, live weekly shows on Stickam— the first on the Internet—began and flourished.

We started producing our own content from clubs and venues all over LA whenever we could. We launched our own weekly show Streaming The Cube to celebrate our community.

Daily and weekly shows from G4 TV, Andrew W.K., B-Real, Jake Fogelnest, DJ Rossstar, Allstar Weekend, Guys from Queens, Hank and Jim and so many others followed. We were privileged to present annual unprecedented live coverage of events like Vans Warped Tour, NATPE, SXSW and the Cinefamily telethons. We were honored to power six years of Myles Dyer’s incredible Stickaid and so many other worthy causes. We were also proud to produce and host “Stickam Live For Japan” to help raise money for victims of the tsunami with your help. So many community members came out to lend support to the broadcast that night at The Roxy, including Stu Stone, Cypress Hill, Black Veil Brides, Chantal Claret and James Urine, Mr. Let’s Paint TV, and Sam Proof, and so many more joined via remote.

Just late last year we launched the Stickam Studios at Meltdown with great friends and partners like TheOneRing.net, Iheartcomix, the NerdTerns and MeltCast. We were there for the special night with Die Antwoord and with Tavi Gevinson, and chats with Hollywood Undead and New Years Day and Escape The Fate. We continued to stream the cube.

We are incredibly grateful to all the Stickam members and viewers, to all the bands and artists, the radio stations, the regular shows and the deer. Thank you for making this a wonderful place for seven years. Thank you all. We will miss the Stickam community.

The site will remain alive here until February 28, 2013. We encourage you to log in and download any of your live recordings or other media you wish to save.
Sincerely,